Into the Mist
by LikeableNerd
Summary: "Once you've met someone you never really forget them. It just takes awhile for your memories to return." "It will protect you. It's made from the threads your friends wove together." Chihiro has no memories of the bathhouse. She dies. Haku will stop at nothing to find her. However, powerful forces will stop at nothing to keep him from her.


Strolling through the streets of Seoul at night was a relatively low risk venture. The key was to stay on the main roads. There was safety in numbers, and the well lit busy and vibrant roads were packed.

Traveling through side streets and alleys wasn't life threatening-the wealthy Gagnam district was relatively crime free-but people were now wary. The bodies of five women had been found nearby; what had first appeared to be a string of tragic coincidences were soon connected by a single similarity.

All three women had been of Japanese descent. The "ilbon-eo gang-ganbeom" or Japanese-rapist's attacks began to litter the local papers. The topic was rapidly trending on NewsFeeds, and people were whispering.

Chihiro's boss had offered to pay for a chauffeur service. Flattered by the concern, she had turned down the offer preferring to exercise. However, the sight the dark shadow poised in the distance particular night had her wishing she had accepted.

Chihiro had left Japan in a rush. Deep down she knew that it was the only way to escape the bizarre things that took place: the incoherent whispers, the dreams, the ghostly figures in her peripheral view. These inexplicable occurrences had plagued her since the day her family took a wrong turn.

Something had happened. All she and her parents remembered, was the drive up to the tunnel, and then taking a nap. There was nothing after that, but when they had woken up their car had been vandalized.

At least, that was what her father had thought until the chief of police had informed them that they had been missing for months. In the end though, no one could come up with a rational explanation and they tried to move on with their lives.

However, Chihiro noticed that her parents were never the same. Within days of moving into their house-which was never put on the market during their absence-Chihiro noticed that both her parents had gained a considerable amount of weight, while she had lost a lot herself. Strangely enough, her mother and father, could not stomach meat-especially pork.

"It must be the body's way of telling us that we've been pigging out too much," her mother had declared over a salad, "It's kind of a blessing. meat is so high in cholesterol!"

Things for Chihiro were so remarkably different that even her parents noticed. They dragged her all around the county, from psychiatrists to acupuncturists to figure out why she was so much more distracted. Chihiro was put on so many different types of medications that she wasn't sure what to feel anymore. Finally a nurse practitioner took pity upon the girl, and told Chihiro's parents to, "let her settle things herself. It's probably a stage".

However, Chihiro never grew out of her "phase". She still saw things. At first all she had been able to see were faint shimmers-usually around parks, forests, and gardens. However, the older she became the more defined the shadows became. Sometimes she could see a hand from the corner of her eye, or a faint chuckle as she passed by a forest.

People were disconcerted by her distracted look. The kids at school teased her and eventually ignored her.

And then there was the magenta hair tie.

For some reason, Chihiro could not bear to get rid of it. Whenever she took it off too long she would get a terrible feeling at the pit of her stomach that would only lift once she had put it back on her wrist or tied up her hair.

When Chihiro was 16 years old her class took a trip to a local Shrine. Chihiro had been stressing over the trip for quite sometime. There was something about it that had her on edge.  
Somehow, she had gotten separated and in her panic ended up in an abandoned part of the temple. On the altar there had been a statue of a dragon. Made of white marble, with blue enamel scales the statue had this aura that drew the girl forward.

Reaching forward, her fingers had made contact with the dragon's snout. A painful jumbled rush of voices and images had flooded her head.

"_Come on, quit eating, let's get out of here!"_

"_I'm see through!"_

"_Sen!"_

"_Oh, Haku's bleeding all over the carpet. Get him out of here, he'll be dead soon anyway."_

"_Your real name is..."_

"_Once you've met someone you never really forget them. It just takes awhile for your memories to return."_

She was jolted out of her trance by the monk yanking her from the statue.

"Young lady, we've been looking for you." Chihiro took a moment to gather herself.

"I'm sorry."

"Just make sure you don't stray again," he said. He turned around and Chihiro followed on his tail. Stopping suddenly, the man paused, "shrines and temples are places where the boundaries between the spirit world and the human world runs thinly." Chihiro froze. "You best be careful my dear. This country is old, and rich in spiritual energy. I sense that you are particularly sensitive to such things."

And the monk continued on.

The intern-study program at Seoul university was a way out. Chihiro knew that for sure. It was a way to get away from the judgmental people of her town. It was a way to get away from the dreams and the things she saw.

The program was notoriously selective. For months she studied late into the night. She went to cram school. The hours and effort built up.

By the time she mailed in her application, she was confident that she would get in.

Surely enough the letter came, and she was off to Korea.

Her hunch was correct. In the densely urban Seoul there were no whispers, or shadows. For once she felt at ease.

It was her first independent presentation.

"How do I look?" asked the nervous Chihiro.

"Pretty good," said Sun Hye, "But that hair tie you insist on wearing around your wrist has got to go. It isn't very professional looking."

Chihiro had forgotten about the magenta band on her wrist.

"Oh. I guess so."

"If I were you I would take it off," Sun Hye said. Chihiro looked down unsure. However, the shadows and voices were gone. Surely the inexplicable attachment to the hair tie was gone as well. Tugging it off of her wrist she put it on her desk, and went into the meeting.

"Chihiro..." the shadow crooned. Chihiro backed away. Something deadly emanated off of the person in front of her.

"Listen. I'm trained in Jiu Jitsu! I've got mace!"

"Chihiro..." It called out again.

The dark shadow moved closer, and suddenly Chihiro realized it was not of this world.

It leapt forward, and then everything went black.

"_Chihiro!" _A male voice called as she took her last breath.


End file.
